Our View

William C. “Pap” Lewis devoted 46 years of his life to education.
Countless lives were impacted through Lewis’ coaching and teaching at S.C. high schools.
To devote that many years had to be a labor of love for Lewis.
Coach Lewis had his share of successes, winning state titles – team and individual crowns – at every high school where he worked. Those include Wilson High of Florence, Booker T. Washington in Columbia, as well as Barr Street and Lancaster high schools here.

Sports, often regarded as the games kids play, can be cruel. In a world of what-have-you-done-lately, athletes are often judged by their latest effort. And a performance by an athlete in the twilight of his career will impact how he’s remembered.
If one wants to remember Olympic champion Shawn Crawford by his latest venture, then so be it.
Crawford, a Van Wyck native and former Indian Land star athlete, came in seventh in an eight-man race in the 200-meter finals for a spot on the U.S. track and field team at the 2012 Summer Games in London.

The United States of America will celebrate its 236th birthday today.
The midsummer holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring America’s independence from Great Britain.
It is a day of celebration, from the backyard to the pool, river or the beach. Popular forms of celebration and observance include picnics, parades, cookouts, concerts, baseball games and family reunions.
Before embarking on that special celebration, we encourage you to take in the true meaning of the day.

Persistence personified can be found in the group of area youth who have pushed for a skateboard park in Lancaster County.
The group, led by Dustin Owens and his skateboard-loving followers, have frequented area government council meetings in the past year, pushing for a skateboard park.
They’ve been to city and county council meetings in hopes of a solution, but it appears they may have found their future hopes at the Kershaw Town Council.

The South Carolina Gamecocks brought home a handsome trophy from Omaha on Tuesday afternoon to a large throng of garnet and black-clad USC fans at Carolina Stadium.
It wasn’t the biggest prize the Gamecocks had hoped for, but it was a coveted trophy.
Plenty of teams would have loved to be bearing the runner-up trophy from the College World Series, and the Gamecocks were.
The two-time defending national champions had hoped to bring home another national crown for the third straight June.

To earn entry to a hall of fame is quite a feat. To have two from one area earn election to a hall is extra special. Lancaster County is quite fortunate for the latter in regards to the S.C. Firefighters Hall of Fame.
The Firefighters Hall inducted two fire chiefs from Lancaster County during its recent enshrinement at Myrtle Beach.
Retired Pleasant Valley Volunteer Fire Department Chief Paul Blackwelder and the late Elgin Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dennis Cauthen were inducted during the S.C. Firefighters Association Conference in Myrtle Beach on June 4-9.

Although school has already been out for a month, summer officially starts today, June 20.
With that in mind, it’s time to remind everyone – children and adults alike – to put safety first this summer.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), summer is when you are most likely to be injured, with emergency room visits spiking by about 20 percent during June, July and August.

The University of South Carolina baseball team, in recent seasons, has seemingly become a fixture in Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series.
The Gamecocks are bidding for their third straight national crown after winning in 2010 and 2011.
Getting there is sweet, but it’s not a given.
When you’re the king of the hill, or in baseball terms, the man on the mound, it gets tougher each time. Along with that shining national championship trophy at the end of the season comes a major target on the team’s back for the following campaign.

Just when Lancaster County residents thought the specter of
trash mountains was laid to rest, at least for awhile, another reared its head in the middle of Indian Land.
A growing mountain of trash at Pressley’s Recycling Center Inc., was discovered in late October, after a very public battle over the proposed “Project December” landfill in southern Lancaster County and the fear that the Foxhole construction and demolition debris landfill just north of the state line would begin accepting household waste last year.

On Tuesday, June 12, registered voters across the state will be able to exercise one of the most precious privileges democracy grants us – the opportunity to determine who will represent them in their government.
In Lancaster County, there are only two races on the ballot – Republicans vying for the Lancaster County Council District 3 seat and the newly created District 7 seat in Indian Land.